Recently, laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) has been used for forming small metal features in the fabrication of electronic devices. With LIFT, a desired metal pattern may be directly written on a target substrate without a photolithography process. This process is also called metal scribing or direct writing. Typically, LIFT involves placing a transparent support substrate having a thin metal film formed thereon in close proximity to a target substrate. The transparent substrate and the target substrate are mounted in a sealed vacuum chamber. A laser source directs a laser beam through the transparent support substrate to ablate the thin metal film along a desired pattern. The metal is then evaporated from the thin metal film onto the target substrate in a desired pattern. One shortcoming of the LIFT process is that the deposited trace thickness is less than 1 μm and has relatively low conductivity. Thus, only very small amount of material can be deposited onto the target substrate. Another shortcoming is that the width of the deposited trace is larger than the laser beam size.
There exists a need for a deposition method that is capable of producing relatively thick metal pattern with narrow line width.